Blood of the Fallen
by exitus10
Summary: The Greatest Disaster since the loss of the Blood Angels Primarch Sanguinius is about to befall the Chapter. The tragic tale which follows is of the Massacre at Mackan where the deaths of over Five Hundred Blood Angels Space Marines unfolds.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter1: Blood of the Fallen

Blood oozed from the corpses of the many slain warriors, pooling onto the craters in the ground created by the constant shelling. Already, all of the five Battle Companies deployed to Mackan were engaged in battling the Chaos onslaught led by the infamous Abaddon the Despoiler. The battle itself was a bloodbath, a swirling mass of swinging chain-blades, bayonets and chain-axes. There was no respite from the unending torrent of death and destruction, and Brother-Sergeant Hadrian Arten was in the thick of it, his squad of Space Marines forming a solid wall against the overwhelming mass of heretics smashing up against them.

"Hold the line! Warriors of the Blood Angels, stand and fight!" bellowed Arten. He knew that his soldiers would live through the assault, but another attack was imminent. This time, they would be facing their traitorous brethren, fallen to the whims and desires granted by the Blood God. The heretics fought madly, but to a Blood Angel they were just a distraction, nothing more. Angered by the time being wasted by the fighting, Arten yelled, "For Sanguinius and the Immortal Emperor! Finish them!" With little effort the strength of ten Space Marines charged, smashing the rabble of nearly a hundred heretics to pieces. Within seconds, all were dead or fleeing. Brother Helon and Brother Doren gave chase, driven mad by the death of their brothers that they had witnessed. Arten hated his warriors breaking ranks, but suddenly, he spotted a group of crimson armored Chaos warriors heading toward his line of Blood Angels. The Sergeant turned on his squad's inter-vox, yelling orders to his Marines.

"Reform and maintain the firing line! Do not pursue the heretics, we shall slay them from afar! Repeat, disengage and maintain the squad firing line!" His command came too late, as he watched in horror as the maddened Brothers fought with ferocity, two Blood Angels against twenty World Eaters. "Squad Arten! For Sanguinius! To our Brothers!" Arten bellowed to his squad as he surged toward the battling Marines.

The Berzerkers were relentless, but Brother Helon and Brother Doren were so overcome by the Red Thirst that they were near unstoppable as they rent apart traitor after traitor in a bloody whirlwind of chainswords. Helon swung his blade wildly, chopping of the limbs of two Chaos warriors to his right and slicing through a third traitor's waist. The Berserker fell, clutching his wound as he laughed insanely and yelled guttural oaths to the Blood God, before a bolter round blew a hole through his cranium. Doren was fighting barehanded, wrestling, punching, slamming and improvising anything he saw as a weapon. He grabbed a World Eater and ripped his arm clean out of the socket, armour and all, and beat the Berzerker to death its chain-axe still whirring. Another came too close to him, and was greeted by a fist to its faceplate and a series of blows to the chest armor, which buckled under the powerful hits. The traitor's interlaced ribs snapped under the force of the impact, causing the warrior to reel back from the impact and crash to the ground. A ceramite-encased boot punctured the weakened breastplate and carried on into the Berserker's chest, rupturing everything within the cavity into a bloody pulp killing the Chaos servant where it fell. Suddenly the two Blood Angels were overcome by sheer weight of numbers as the World Eaters flew into a bloody rage. The traitors dragged the pair to the ground and tore them limb from limb, screaming "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!" as they fell upon the Marines.

Arten saw them fall in battle, overwhelmed as the Chaos warriors surged onto them. Rage engulfed his senses at the loss of his warriors, he raised his chainsword and charged the ranks of the traitors, roaring his fury at them, and his squad followed unleashing a hail of Bolter fire.

"For the Emperor and Sanguinius! Death! DEATH!" yelled the Blood Angels as they crashed into the Berzerkers with the unimaginable might and righteous fury. The Marines ripped apart every enemy they faced with hate-driven strength and zealous rage. Arten, infuriated by the loss of his men, unleashed a fury of bolter rounds and well placed strikes with his blade into the Chaos warriors. Three of the traitors leapt at him, their chain-axes roaring. Arten shot one in the chest with his bolt pistol and swung his blade at the second, beheading him in a spray of gore. As the third Berserker brought its chain-axe down at his head, Arten parried the strike with his ornate blade, bought up his bolter, aiming directly at the warrior's helm, he fired. The deuterium-encased shell tore through the traitor's head, exploding inside and ripping apart its skull, sending bloodied flesh, metal, and bone in a spray of gore. Around him the squad had finished of the other Chaos warriors, smashing their way through the traitor ranks. Twenty Berserkers on the ground lay broken and bloodied, dead alongside Arten's fallen Marines.

Blood flowed into the soil, the blood of the fallen.

**I have had some help form TheLoneHunter who co-authored this better version of the Teaser.Please leave your comments. The whole tale of Brother Hadrian Arten and the legendary Massacre of the Blood Angels at Mackan, will be revealed later on. Thank You! :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Kill the Traitor, Burn the Heretic, Purge the Unclean

The ground inside the trench was littered with the corpses of the dead; Guardsmen, Heretics, Traitor Marines and other foul things too blasphemous to speak of. Arten's squad marched through the trench, cautiously securing each of the checkpoints and deploying a landing beacon for reinforcements to secure the recaptured trench. Toward the enemy to the west, Arten spotted pillars of black smoke twisting upwards into the bloodied sky; the thunderous drum beats of the World Eaters still audible through the clamour of continuous shelling and gunfire to the north. Three Space Marines in yellow armor approached the squad from an abandoned bunker, and behind them strode a giant Terminator, clad in Tactical Dreadnought Armor.

"Hadrian Arten!" he demanded. Arten stepped forth from his squad line and replied, "Yes?"

Two dozen Imperial Guardsmen jumped into the trench behind Squad Arten, manning the abandoned posts. A squad of Karskin arrived behind the Imperial Fists, training their weapons on the Blood Angels.

"What is the meaning of this Brother?" asked Arten. The Imperial Fist stared at him as if trying to bore the question into his head.

"Your squad was requested four standard hours ago, and you have failed to arrive on time. This is unacceptable."

Arten was angered by the statement. He started to protest, when he was sharply cut off by the Terminator's voice. "You are a disgrace to all who bear the name Astartes. I lost a good Marine today because of your pathetic chapter's inefficiency…Brother," he said in a mocking tone. Arten was quick to strike, bringing his fist to the Terminator's armored face and knocking him back, while his squad engaged the other Astartes and proceeded to disarm the awe-struck Karskin troops with brutal efficiency. Arten gritted his teeth beneath his helmet and growled, "I am tired, sick and wounded. By the Emperor's name, we were ambushed near Hill Six. I lost two of my best men, yet we managed to limp all the way here, and now you disgrace us by demeaning my Chapter's honor?" The downed Terminator grunted as he struggled to rise. "Now I speak again…Brother," he said in a mocking tone. "What was it that you really wanted?"

"By the Emperor and Dorn! You have finally arrived, Hadrian!" a thunderous voice sounded from the bunker line of the trench. Arten looked up to find Brother-Captain Nurthen Amorous. A huge Marine even for an Astartes, he had a well-tanned face, scarred in many places and hardened by many decades of war. A particularly powerful jaw stood out on his muscled face, making the Captain instantly identifiable. He wore ornate Terminator armor and clutched a banner indicating the insignia of the Imperial Fists Second Company.

"Brother-Captain," said Hadrian as he bowed to the giant Space Marine. His action was mirrored by his squad and the Imperial Fists. "I did not mean any insult, my Brother. We were just…" Hadrian paused as the Brother-Captain's hand signaled silence.

"Be and act like Brothers, Astartes. Have your arguments and disagreements, but do not draw blood of each other, for it is against the edicts of our chapters."

"This was indeed a misunderstanding, was it not Sergeant Erthon?" the Captain asked as he looked at the Terminator. Erthon nodded politely and extended his hand toward Hadrian, who took it in earnest.

"A warrior's grip purges all previous mishaps and cleanses your relationship. Forgive and forget, but only about true Brother Astartes!" said Amorous as he jumped into the trench. "Now go rearm and resupply at the barracks and regroup with your Brothers. The next attack is imminent!" he continued in a serious tone.

The wailing sirens were enough to get the boots of the lazy Guardsmen onto the ground. The Space Marine squads kept an all night watch for twelve hours in two hour shifts. Squad Arten was one of these squads, accompanied by Squad Neros and Squad Caligula of the Blood Angels Third Company. From what they said, the whole western bulge was now a killing field, and well over fifty-seven Space Marines were lost, all of them Blood Angels. Orbital support was critically insufficient, as the Imperial Fleets were still deadlocked against the Chaos Fleet, who were led by the Space Hulk _Cauldron of Blood_. The situation was just getting worse. Well over one hundred Blood Angels and allied Space Marines were dead, and over three thousand Guardsmen had been lost in only one night on the western bulge, a strategic salient captured by the Imperial Fists Captain Horatious Foran thirteen solar cycles ago. In the past previous days, the relentless Chaos tides smashed apart the Imperial defenses. There was also sufficient evidence that Abaddon himself led the traitor forces, after all, this was his infamous Black Crusade.

The marching of boots echoed across the trench as the soldiers readied themselves for the onslaught. Rumbling armored vehicles headed toward the trenches from the west and the thundering of battle-drums grew louder and louder in the distance. Arten stared through the gun-slits, beholding many legions of Chaos charging the trench line. He signaled Brother Mathan to his left with a quick hand movement and nodded to Brother Barad. Arten proceeded outside, accompanied by Brother Uthaius. Both of the Space Marines carried fragmentation missile launchers and boxes of extra missiles. Arten activated his inter-squad vox, quickly issuing orders into the communicator.

"Brothers, stay alert! Fire only at my command and maintain the battle lines! You will be informed of the enemy's movements and positions by Brother Mathan. For the Emperor!"

"For the Emperor!" echoed the squad over the vox.

The bolter shells spat furiously as the mechanisms within the guns worked with tailored efficiency, firing at nearly thirty rounds a minute. Each found its intended mark, all of them enemies of the God-Emperor, but there seemed to be no end to them. For every one dead, two would appear, and for every two dead, four would appear. The unending tide was futilely clashing against an unmovable wall of fire as the entire trench line spat explosive shells and concentrated las-beams into their ranks. Propellant streams indicating missiles streaked out of the bunker. The killing field now truly earned its name as hundreds of traitors fell to the precision fire laid down by the Astartes defenders. Under the withering fire, the first wave bent and shattered from the sheer amount of firepower being poured into it. Arten knew, as the last of the wave where killed off, that more would soon come. The sound of rumbling metal and the thud of what could only be ceramite boots only confirmed his thoughts. "More traitors, Brothers," he whispered into his vox.

"In the Emperor's name, DEATH!!" yelled Arten as he ordered his men to fire at will. The Captain trained his bolter and fired at shadowy figures, who were charging the trench line with unnatural speed. Several of the bolter shells found their marks, but to no avail. The figures were back up charging once more.

"Incoming missile!! Evacuate the bunker!" crackled the vox. Arten looked to his left, where he saw a bright comet heading toward him; a fragmentation missile on a direct path to the bunker. He activated his vox. "You heard him! Everybody out and find cover! Now!" The squad dashed out and threw themselves into cover as the missile struck the bunker with a massive explosion. A few unlucky Guardsmen in the forward lines to the right flank were caught by the shrapnel and killed instantly, shards of metal penetrating their bodies. Arten recovered and yelled, "Squad, maintain the firing line! No breaking ranks! Mathan, get Squad Aurelius up here from Beta Four! We need close support!" Mathan nodded quickly. "Yes, Brother-Sergeant!"

Arten glanced to his right as heretics poured in through the broken line. He hefted his chainsword and charged at them with a roar. The first heretic to feel Arten's wrath fell eviscerated, his intestines spilling out onto the ground. The group of five traitors was shattered by bolter fire from behind, torn to pieces by the explosive rounds. More came forth, but they were met with the fierce resistance of the Space Marines. Soon enough, the puny heretic force was nothing more than a bloody pulp, but something much more horrendous followed after them.

A giant armoured in crimson threw himself upon Brother Aaron, swearing guttural oaths to the Blood God Khorne. The horn-helmed World Eater met his end by a strike through the gap between helm and the neck, and as he fell, ten more arrived, trying to swarm Brother Aaron. To their misfortune, they found themselves facing the entirety of Squad Arten.

"For the Emperor!" yelled the Space Marines in unison as they charged into the bloodied battlefield. Mathan had already slain two with a spray of bolter fire, the deuterium rounds chewing through the traitor's armor. Aaron yelled in pain as a chainaxe bit into his arm. In his fury, he hurled the traitor into the air and swung his blade, severing a cable on the World Eater's breastplate and tearing into the ceramite. Arten swung his chainsword high, parrying a chainaxe strike. As he brought up his boltgun to the traitor's faceplate, the gun was deflected by the warrior's gauntlet just as it fired. As the shot flew wild, the two combatants continued to wrestle. Neither gained the better of each other, but finally, the deadlock was broken as Arten speared his knee into the warrior's abdominal armour, crushing it and throwing the Chaos Marine backwards. A quick swipe across the traitor's neck ensured his end, as Arten proceeded to engage another.

Across the trenches, the soldiers cheered as the assault withered around them. A cry of "Kill the traitor! Burn the heretic! Purge the unclean!" echoed through the battlefield as both Marine and Guardsman yelled in triumph at their victory.

**This was co-written TheLoneHunter, Thanks! Don't forget to review.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: For Sanguinius!

Severed heads sat on a pike atop a ruined rhino, mud and blood with water had mixed on the ground making it slippery and sick. The Imperial Guard marched through the killing fields collecting the dead and any equipment they had lost. An Imperial Officer examined a bloodied vox set and proceeded to activate it, a small whirring noise emanated followed by the typical cackle of the vox, a massive shadow crept up behind him startling the young Officer to his feet and to activate his Power-Fist. "Do not be alarmed Officer Delos!" said a booming voice as he turned around, it was an Space Marine and he was huge, armed and armoured in Dorn's yellow, an Imperial Fist he thought giving a quick salute to the Space Marine who returned the favour "How can I help, Sir?" the Astartes procceded to give him a map and mouthed his instructions.

The battle-worn Astartes of Squad Arten were ordered to hold the southern bunker Hill-56 and to defend the artillery positions, under their jurisdiction. A young Imperial Officer by the name of Erand Delos was to reinforce them with the 27th Urachian Rifles; their combined objective was to hold the position until the 2nd Blood Angels Company regrouped in the Spaceport to the east and was ready to push through the killing field into the heart of the enemy. The killing fields itself was a massive open plain, which used to be the plethora thriving suburban communities but after seventeen solar cycles of constant bombardment, orbital and ground, had left the fields nothing more than rubble adorned with twisted husks of armoured vehicles and thousands of warriors, dead warriors. It had its own stream of blood with flowed into the nearest tributary strengthened everyday by patrol skirmishes, it was indeed a sickening place filled with dread and death, but it was a strategic and morale high ground, once it is captured by either side the war of attrition can stop and either assaults the other.

"Brother Sergeant, we've got company!" crackled the squad vox it was Brother Mathan from his sentry post. Arten peered through the gun slit of the bunker disturbed from cleaning his Bolter, he procceded to place the bolter down and wrap the parts in sacred parchment before bowing to the weapon, he activated his vox "I am approaching your post, keep them at the gates." He looked at Brother Uthaius who had overheard the vox chat and immediately retrieved his weapon and followed his Brother outside. Brother Thalion was approaching the gate as well while Brother Aaron was stripped to his waist cleaning his wounds sustained in the victory last night, completely unaware of the vox alert, he saw his Brothers rush to the gate he got up, only to be stopped by Arten's left hand which commanded him to stay put as his right pulled the chain blade. Along with Brother Mathan were Brother Geron, Brother Harlath and Brother Barad with their Bolters ready. Arten looked at Mathan who gave a nod and activated the gate's open mechanism.

"Brother-Sergeant Hadrian Arten, of the 4th Company, 3rd Squad of the Blood Angels Chapter. By the Authority of the Imperial Commander and by the God-Emperor, I have been ordered to reinforce your position with this compliment of the 27th's finest as you requested. Hail to Him on Holy Terra!" Arten was at first a bit surprised at the way the speech went, he studied the Officer who stood there with the Data slate from which he had read in one hand and a massive oversized Power-Fist in the other, he proceeded to hand the Data Slate over to his aide and he bowed to Arten and procceded to address again "I am Captain Erand Delos of the 27th Urachian Rifles 3rd Company of the 56th Urachian Imperial Guard." Arten sensed a bit of worry in the young officer's voice, he quickly replied "Requested, did you say Captain Delos?" the Officer suddenly stumbled for an answer, no such request was ever made, he was ordered to reinforce.

"I was…simply, I assumed that…" stuttered the obviously nervous Officer as Arten's massive form approached him flanked by Brother Geron and Barad, he procceded to remove his Helmet with a hiss and looked down on the officer who was upto his abdomen "It was a jest!" was all he said that was enough to make the entire squad laugh, the embarrassed Officer tried to smile "Captain Delos, we have much to do but first I assume you have something that I actually requested?" asked Arten, Erand's brain clicked and he signaled to his aides and they brought forth two integrity boxes which Arten received and passed it onto Brother Barad who went back into the bunker line. "Your troops may enter, Captain," he said. "Their quarters are in tunnels Three through Six. One and Two are off-limits to them. Do I make myself clear?" The officer nodded, signaling his line officers over and conveying orders to them while the Astartes procceded back into the bunker gate, keeping a watchful eye on the one thousand soldiers filing into the fort. Arten watched as a column of massive armored trucks and tanks rolled in, followed by several units of Storm Troopers and Sentinel loader-walkers, carrying various parts which seemed like gun emplacements and massive cylindrical parts, for a massive Super-Cannon, the Defender.

It was not too long before the Chaos Legions struck again, some two armoured companies were approaching Brother-Captain Nurthen Amorous position who formed the center with his two Imperial Fist companies and four thousand Imperial Guardsmen, over three thousand traitors were assaulting the recapture Western Salient and the right flank was busy beating of a massive chaos counter-attack, Arten's position was giving massive fire support to most of the front situated in between the center and the left flank line, one hundred heavy artillery pieces and two super cannons the Defender Guns were thundering at enemy positions this was indeed a very strategic move once the Hill Forts in the killing fields were consolidated heavy bombardment would take precedence, any one with a fair amount of fire power would decimate any forces trying to retake the fields.The thunder of artillery fire from one hundred emplaced guns echoed over the bunker as the gun crews rushed to reload their weapons.

Statistically, the artillery crews were firing off more than three thousand shells an hour. The bunker's ammunition dump was being sucked dry, as new shells were brought through the extensive tunnels to replenish the dwindling supply of ordnance rounds. With ammunition growing scarce, more Chaos troops pushed forward, past the corpses of their fallen comrades. The first ones were spotted dangerously close to the bunker perimeter, bunker perimeter and this was enough to get the defenders of Hill 56 to the nearest gun slits, the concentrated fire was able to hold the tide of heretics back until the counter bombardment by Chaos Defilers and enemy tanks started to weaken the line. Arten was organizing hid squad with the Officer and his cadre of Karskin, he was issuing the battle plan for a sustained bombardment and defence of the installation when a massive explosion sent shock waves through the defence complex the warriors rushed out to find a gaping hole in the defence wall, Arten rushed to the breach to find it littered with the dead and dying, he advanced forward with his squad followed by Elite Karskins and a few Rifle squads, slowly enemies appeared in the breach, they were large warriors encased in black armour led by Defiler crushing the rubble beneath. "Traitors! The Black Legion! Here?" said a surprised Captain Delos on the Vox, Arten nodded "Indeed, but Traitors are Traitors!"he replied "All Units Forward!" he ordered on his vox turning toward the enemy. "For Sanguinius!" roared Arten, raising his chainsword to the sky as he and his Battle-Brothers charged toward the Chaos warriors.

**I have been thinking of introducing more characters, they will be coming in subsequent Chapters. I have also borrowed some ideas given to me by TheLoneHunter. Thank You!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: For the God-Emperor

The missile clipped Arten's shoulder plate as he maneuvered out of its way, sending it off course into a wall behind him in a fury of fire and sound, regaining his posture Arten proceeded to crash into the group of Black Legionnaires, beside him was his squad firing while advancing. Las shots flew toward the targets up front; they were covered by the Guardsmen behind rallying under Captain Delos's banner, the engagement was bloody, swinging his chain blade in an arc, Arten scored hits on six heretics lugging on massive Auto-cannons and missile tubes, they fell clutching their necks trying to stem the flow of blood which spilled into the rubble, Arten moved to the next he faced a Traitor Marine, Arten thrust his chain blade but the warrior parried and followed through with a ceramite plated boot to Arten's chest which sent him crashing to the ground losing the grip on his weapon, he recovered it quickly reactivating it, he blocked a downward sweep toward his neck as the two chains teethed with Admantium clashed and sparks prevailed, the Traitor slowly bought the blade toward Arten's neck.

A flurry of Concentrated Las-Shots knocked the Traitor back a few steps, burnt holes covered his armour Arten recovered his form and took the warrior by surprise beheading him a in a quick stroke he turned to see Captain Delos and his Karskin troops surge forward to his side training their weapons, "You have my thanks. Captain Delos." Said Arten in the heat of the battle Delos simply nodded when a massive explosion threw debris and bodies in the air Arten jogged forward unsheathing his Boltgun and saw the figure of a massive Defiler around it was a carpet of dead soldiers Imperial and Traitor dismembered and ripped apart, it was clutching a handful of screaming Guardsmen in one claw and proceeded to rip them apart with the other, he activated his vox "Concentrate fire in the Defiler Delos!" he ran forward as he discharged his Boltgun, "Squad Arten taken down the Defiler, priority Alpha!" he continued as he emptied his clip taking down a swathe of deformed mutant-things reveling in the noxious fumes around the Defiler busy picking apart the next group of unlucky Guardsmen. A lone Traitor Marine stood in Arten's way he was covered in gore clutching a Chain Axe in one hand and the bloodied pulp of half of a Guardsman from his waist up a bloody grin formed on his unhelmed face scarred and battered as he spotted Arten, he spat blood and roared in anger as it charged him yelling the guttural calls of a World Eater "BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!".

Arten saw the mad Marine charge at him swinging his Chain Axe yelling "SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!", he checked his Boltgun to find it empty, so he simply flipped the gun and threw it with all his granted strength at the Traitor's head, the weapon's blunt handle buried itself into the Traitors scarred temple in a spray of gore, brains and bone fragments, the body came crashing down stopping at his foot convulsing, Arten stepped over the corpse and proceeded to clash with his order when he saw the thing, it had an Astartes in one hand and was using the other as a fist to knock a few Guardsmen and another two of his Astartes of their feet, Arten felt a surge of hate flow through him as he charged at the demon machine raising his chain blade, he jumped as high as he could and landed a blow onto the thing's horned helm, screaming in pain the thing released the Astartes by throwing him toward the wall and started clawing at Arten who started sprawling around the machine's body hacking and chopping, until he was caught of balance and he fell, the thing loomed over him and proceeded to pound the ground with it's massive claws.

Arten rolled out of the way and regained his composure, he found his Helmet missing, he shook his head as his genenhanced body adjusted to the noxious fumes around the Defiler, he spotted the defilers claw crashing toward him, and he jumped out of the way and struck with his chain blade. The demon machine was tremendously strong, it blocked the attack with its claws and broke the chain blade, a shocked Arten looked on in disbelief clutching on the broken handle he stepped back as it advanced on him. Two missiles screamed into the left side of the Defiler, bringing the hulking thing to the ground, Bolter shells ripped into it from the left as it screamed in anguish, Arten looked around for a weapon and found a plasma gun, he found a fresh canister lying beside it and reloaded it, he checked his belt to find three Melta Grenades in a chain, he unbuckled them and charged at the demon machine. It was now back up again, and it fired at the Guardsmen on the top of the rubble pile with its chest mounted cannon and proceeded to fire its lasers at the troops, three more Astartes fired as they appeared out of the rubble from caused by the explosion, it growled as super-heated hit it hard on its right melting its missile pod off its frame. Arten jumped on to the beasts body and fired of two more shots into its frame, the plasma entered at one end and came out the other, he activated the grenades and shoved it into the breaches as he jumped from it, in a moment a murderously loud explosion tore apart the demonic machine as it melted and died.

The explosion had left Arten weary, but the pain balms within the suit activated as it sent it through his body numbing pain and the special glands from his genenhanced body were inoculating fresh enzymes into his bloodstream cleaning any taint and bringing much needed nutrients into blood stream. He got recovered quickly and got to his feet, he ran toward the fallen Marine at the base of the wall, "Mathan! Brother Mathan…" he cheked Mathan's wrist scanner and it bleeped continuously a rune flashed 'Critical' "Brother Barad, this is Arten, Brother Mathan requires medical assistance.", "Copy Brother-Sergeant I am Disengaging and moving to your position." Captain Delos and a group of Karskin descended the rubble strewn mound and joined Arten who held Mathan's head in his hands, "Sergeant Arten, they still continue the assault we need heavy reinforcements, the second company has nearly finished the muster but the situation looks dire I hav….." the young Officer suddenly stopped, Arten looked up "Continue, Captain" he said in all seriousness, Captain Delos's face turned into that of horror as he listened to his vox bead reports "Sir, the entire defence force of Coldian V is in full retreat, the 47th Arthonian Corps was killed to the last and…..the entire 3rd Blood Angels Company has been wiped out." Arten's face suddenly changed from that of a warrior to that of a madman; "NO!" he shouted "NO! YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE WRONG REPORT!", Brother Barad rushed to his side as he removed his Helmet revealing a clean shaven head and face, scarred by decades of combat, "Sir, it is true, it is on the general Vox. The 5th Company is taking heavy casualties as well; the 6th Company is taken heavy losses and is rallying to our position, but now we need to hold our own.", "Brother-Captain Zerus, Brother Maul, Brother Castur, Brother Borham, Chaplain Margus! All My Brothers, they were never meant to die!"

The High Command was in total disarray, the massive losses was not only damaging to the general strategy but was hellishly costly, the loss of one Space Marine was the equivalent of the loss of a company of Guardsmen and the losses here were crippling, this was caused by the sudden arrival of enemy reinforcement in the form of the Black Legion warriors led by Abaddon, all of the events on Mackan was just a trap, sprung by the Warmaster Abaddon and how the Blood Angels bled in it, the total losses were upto some two hundred Blood Angels dead including the entire 3rd Company. The forces were said to hold their positions for 12 more Solar Cycles as reinforcements in the form of the rest of the Blood Angels Chapter was en-route to avenge the atrocity, this did not raise the fighting spirit but infact dampened it, heavy losses were taken in all the major holdings, as Abaddon's classic move of "ripping the heart of the enemy" was carried with brutal efficiency.

But all was not lost, losses were crippling on the other side as well, the defence forces had more than destroyed half the World Eater Berzerker force. Fresh regiments of Guardsmen were readied and prepared for the battles ahead, the Imperial Fists still held firm, they were all rallied under one great eternal purpose which they will ensure until they die and all this they did for the purpose set by the One Being on Terra who delivered them from darkness, it was all For the God-Emperor!

**Alright, shout-outs to all the peeps who have reviewed my work. Thank You**

**Special Thanks to TheLoneHunter for editing and supporting me in my work.**

**The story is only getting more violent and bloody and LOT of Blood Angels are going to die, hellish battles and new enemy villains will come along in the next chapters, so if your queasy read this to clear your bowels! **

**Peace….or War I guess ******


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Angels of Death

Chapter 5: Angels of Death

There was quiet from the battle at last, the shells still pounded the trench complex and the fort, but the retaliation shots soon followed, a large explosion toward the enemy camp registered a direct hit at something big, so far their sensor towers had been ripped clean off in the fight the day before, and the watch towers were all but gone, but this unnatural manifestation of a black fog was the most disturbing of all, as it covered the advance in the enemy. Squad Arten was now, struggling to hold their position, Brother Mathan still lay in the healing vat recovering slowly, while his broken and overworked squad kept a keen eye in the enemy. Captain Delos wasn't any better off, he had already lost over Seventy-Seven men and 3 Heavy Basilisks, but somehow the combined efforts kept the enemy at bay. But something which was a gain in defence here was a absolute loss somewhere else.

The 4th company had held themselves well at the Ferian Holds; they had wiped out two companies of traitor Marines and were now moving their bulk toward the Marius Line where Arten and his comrades were positioned, the forces were to rendezvous at Hill 56 bunker line. The Thunderhawks of the 4th had already mustered all the company and were headed to the forward base upon the now reinforced Hill 56 prepared by Squad Arten and the Imperial Guard stationed there, all in all there were ten dead Blood Angels in the whole 4th company, two from Squad Arten and eight more from Squad Belgor, most of the squad was crushed by a overwhelming ambush, two of the squad survived, Brother Relan and Brother Aranur. They both arrived a day early at Hill 56 and where they were to join with Squad Arten and reform.

"Arten! I need a cover to the left, take out those gunmen on the second ridge!" the vox-bead crackled, "Copy, that Captain!" he replied over the rage of battle "Squad Arten, on me, I need those targets taken out!" he yelled pointing at the hilltop where seven Chaos Marines stood clutching on pounding Auto-Cannons ripping into the pinned Blood Angels, Arten looked at Brother Mathan and chopped his hand on the target and swung his forearm in an angled chop, Mathan nodded and pointed at the new marines Relan and Aranur and he said "Target, 38 by 46, kill them!" they acknowledged and went into action, they brought down their Bolters and armed their Missile tubes, they aimed and fired. Jets of hot chemical propellant spewed forth from the missiles as it ejected from the tubes and streamed toward the hilltop, in a flurry of explosion and sound the Krak missiles hit home, the sounds of war died down, "Forward, maintain the advance!"

Two massive Land-Raider frames lay burning and shattered amidst the carnage, broken forms of traitor marines lay about the ruin and hundred of heretics carpeted the blood slick ground. Blood Angels Marines advanced forward firing from the hip killing a swathe of enemy infantry. Air-support had come through; it was raining hellfire of the Emperor himself upon the enemy, the 4th company Rhinos advanced through the haze of war, firing their cannons and guns in full glory. But Arten knew, so did Captain Matthias of the 4th, this wont last. Three-hundred Guardsmen were cut down by a single Traitor Marine in the Boullion gap, which was just one warrior; they shuddered at the thought of hundreds if not thousands of them. Then it happened, the worst thing they could ever hear by the name of the Emperor himself. "This is Captain Erand Delos of the 27th Urachian Rifles 3rd Company of the 56th Urachian Imperial Guard, we are taking heavy fire I need Astartes ground support there are Black Armoured Terminators everywhere! Help!", Arten turned and looked west at the Herloc line toward his associate Captain Delos's position.

A Thunderhawks glided slowly as it landed into the thick piles of rubble the sounds of battle had died down around the area, a burnt out rhino sat atop a hill and a grotesque Daemonic sign was imprinted on its front plates, Arten cursed the Dark Gods, reciting the Litany of the Divine as he looked away watching his Battle-Brothers await the ships on the rubble piles, ever vigilant. "Squad Arten, Squad Hevlon, Terminator Squad Everen you are assigned to Eagle 1" growled the voice of Force Commander. "Squad Arlen, Squad Othar and Terminator Squad Ulsak! You are assigned to Eagle 3", "Where is Eagle 2 Commander?" asked Aranur, the Force Commander's face twisted in anger, as suddenly as it came the anger disappeared "Where did you ask me young Brother?" Aranur started to withdraw his comment when the Commander cut in, "We had to evacuate your mother as she was too big an obstacle in the field of Battle, sadly even the mighty Thunderhawk could not bear the immense weight and crashed with the oversized cargo, utterly destroying both!" he said with a menacing smile, the entire cluster of Battle Brothers laughed aloud as they walked towards the ramp, Arten could sense the tension even as some of the Brother Terminators clipped Brother Aranur's shoulder with their Thunder Hammer trying to annoy and jest him as they passed him, in shame young Brother proceeded to board the Thunderhawk, his mistake cost him dearly, Arten unbuckled his helmet and reverently placed it as his seat, he walked up to the Brother and looked at Aranur's unhelmed face "Pull a frackin stunt like that again….Be warned whelp!"

The Thunderhawks screamed as the engines hit maximum, ripping through the haze filled sky from his pictscreen he could see fires and pillars of smoke on the ground from an Armour engagement and clearly could see Armoured vehicles painted black race past the ruin toward hundreds upon hundreds of Leman Russ battle tanks and columns of Chimeras dispatching thousands of troops across toward Traitor positions, he traced his viewfinder up the imperial lines and saw many more units moving back toward the Starport or the outer gates of the Marlonus City, they were loosing….badly from what he had heard the entirety of the four chapters of the Blood Angels were retreating back toward the city to fortify it, shameful. Just as the thought passed him he saw two heavily armed, armoured and tracked vehicles race to the front, "Baneblades! Praise the Emperor!" remarked Brother Mathan. These ancient machines were held in utter reverence because of its power and rarity such sights were witnessed maybe once in a lifetime. These ones carried massive Plasma cannons, Shadowblades Arten thought Traitor Armour, Dozens of Chaos Predators and Chimeras fell prey to the awesome power of the Ancient machines, two columns of Imperial armour joined them as they charged through the traitor ranks destroying enemy Tanks or crushing the piling infantry beneath their heavy treads. Suddenly there was a massive explosion "Titans!" exclaimed Mathan as he swung around to look through the pict-scope, two massive figures approached from the chaos lines, two massive Chaos Warlord Titans firing massive Plasma Cannons at the Imperial Tanks.

The Thunderhawks had to leave the battle behind as they raced toward Captain Delos's position, for all he knew, Delos may have been overrun. Arten worried at the thought, he closed his eyes as he meditated to calm his racing twin hearts, slowly purity and air flowed through him and he felt calmer and relaxed, he opened his eyes, donned his helmet and checked his Bolter, clicking the first shell in the barrel with a familiar sound as he pulled the lever back and released it, he looked toward Brother Aranur who joked with brother Relan, all sorrows forgotten, he scoffed his own misfortune of being too tense. The inter-vox soon blared out, "Strike Teams; we are approaching the operation LZ in 10 standard seconds." Arten retrieved the Datapad by his Bolter and entered the enemy information into it, his squad's helmets gave out a lowly bleep as it assured the message received the Space Marines reviewed the data. "Brother Arten, cover our right Brother Everen has our left, were going on pattern Alpha, three on lap cover 3378 procedure." "Copy that Terminator Brother, Emperor Protects!" the entire ship echoed Arten.

The remaining Imperial Guard troops looked in awe toward the skies as the elegant shapes of the Thunderhawks made a pass overhead bringing Emperor's divine retribution with them, cannons and guns chattered as they made a pass at the LZ clearing it of Black Legion Marines. Two more Strom Troopers jumped into the trench beside Captain Delos, they were surprised to see the man standing atop a pile of dead heretics and ,surprisingly, Chaos Marines, the Captain held the severed head of a Chaos Marine in his left hand and held a ornate chainsword in the other he looked up as the Thunderhawks flew past "They have arrived!" he proclaimed lifting his chainsword "Beware, vile foes of the Emperor! Here comes his divine retribution!" he saw advancing tide of Terminator armoured heathens he dropped the severed head and retrieved his hell pistol and fired into the masses "Death Incarnate! Here come the Angels of Death!" he yelled as his chainsword sprang to life.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Fall of the Angels

The massive frames of the two Thunderhawks landed on a pile of flattened rubble as Space Marines of the Blood Angels force spilled out onto the battlefield. Sixty-Space Marines, truly this battle was theirs thought Brother Sergeant Arten as he exited the craft behind the hulking Terminator squads; usually this kind of force according to the Codex Astartes, Books Five and Seven, Chapters Astartes Counter-Attacks 1-6, were assembled when blunting an enemy assault. The formation was carried out in perfect form as decades of combat experience and constant training had made this kind of action natural and even instinctive to a level, the Terminators formed in 2 deep ranks and five across as the other two Tactical Squads spread themselves as they assumed their defensive tactics advancing with the Terminators covering their flanks.

The vox burst into life as the formation was taken up, "The Herloc line is two hundred meters south of your position, Squad Hevlon and Arten cover Terminator Squad Everen, advance three alpha zero", suddenly he heard the whining of a servo motor from his left, _there was no Blood Angel out of formation, that must mean_ he thought to himself _No!_. He ducked left as his senses kicked in, he had smelt the traitor marine out, as the enemy swung his silent crackling power fist at Arten's head. Cloaking devices, they were in cloak, he aimed his Bolter at the distortion of the hidden enemy, and unloaded his shells into the figure.

As the shells hit the broad frame merely 4 meters from Arten, the enemy came into view as the cloak shield burnt out, the body of the dying enemy crashed to the ground as his body succumbed to the wounds, the rest of the squad formed up around Arten as he inspected the enemy body, it was a Black Legion Chaos Marine, he shot the dying traitor in the head and proceeded to activate his Inter-Vox "All Squads, you are being stalked by cloaked units, activate infra-auspex, lest they engage us once more." The vox crackled as the reply came "Well, done Brother Arten we have detected multiple units of both traitor marine and heretic cloaked units. Now they will pay for their indiscretion. For the Emperor!"

"Additional contacts!" yelled Mathan as he emptied his bolter and in a swift move reloaded it and was back firing it in full auto. Arten nodded as he holstered his bolter and retrieved a still armed Rocket Tube from the dead hands of an Imperial Guardsmen, he whispered _Targeters _to machine-spirit and it obeyed, his helmet shifted from standard battle view, to the multi-target systems for advanced firefights where multiple weapons are in use, the HUD flared up as multiple target runes traced the enemy forces toward the small opening within the trench from whence the poured out in force. He offered a small prayer to the rocket tube as the lock on systems on the weapon interfaced with his suit and let out a silent whine in acceptance to his prayer and confirmation of the targets, he smiled to himself as he pressed the launch rune blister, a massive cloud of propellant shot out of the back vent of the weapon as the rocket shot from the mouth in a terrifying speed spewing chemical concoction of its fuel as it shot up to the sky, in a parabolic angle, it broke into five other rockets as it crashed in to the targets with maximum impact as small firestorms broke out across the trenches, bodies were thrown in the air like rag-dolls, Astartes gauntlets punched the air praising the God-Emperor as they advanced toward the beleaguered Imperial Guard just beyond the Main Bunker 45 in front of them, all around him his squad formed up unholstering their chain-blades and reloading their bolters, "Forward! Unto the Cauldron of War!" yelled Veteran Sergeant Everen as the Blood Angels charged in to the broken trenches.

The entirety of the trenches where ripped apart by the rocket Arten had fired, small fires burnt here and there as the Astartes made their way to the Main Bunker 45, as they entered it they found a few heretics huddled together traumatized by the slaughter, Everen mercilessly ordered Brother Thaun and Olerth to kill them, it was a bloody mess after that, but it was the only way a heretic bastard could ever die, so there was no loss. Arten gladly led his squad outside from the Main Bunker 45 into the Herloc Line which was littered with dead traitor Marines and a hundreds of heretic soldiers clad in black, as they entered the first barrack they were surprised to find a hundred lasguns and hellguns pointed at them, the Guardsmen were more than glad when they saw they were Astartes of the Emperor and not the Warp-spit curs if the Black Legion, to greet them came a scarred and blood sick Captain Delos of the Urachian Rifles 27th Company, he laughed as he saw his old accomplice though it had only been a few days since they had parted ways in the field of battle.

"We are glad to see a friend in need is often helped by one who is a friend indeed." Said Delos in a tired voice, Arten removed his war-helm and smiled, "We are in the field of War good friend. If you can't rely on a friend who else is there?" the tired faces of the Imperial Guard lit up in hope "The Commissariat, Sir?" yelled a voice in the crowd as the room broke into laughter, the black irony was only clear when the crowd found themselves amidst a Commissar who had said the joke. The Commissar smiled and nodded "No, need for me to be a tight-arse all the time." Suddenly the Vox units crackled into life as the High Marshal Harthein Margon's voice broke into the black comedy, "All, Imperial Forces, This is the High Marshal Margon of the High Command the city is under heavy attack, we are to converge onto the main Starport nearest to you, form a defence line therein, you will be assisted by the Blood Angels and the Imperial Fists, the Inquisition from Canticar are arriving in force for a sanctioned Exterminatus, we are not to hold this cursed world."

A shocked look swept across the room, Arten put his helmet back on as he switched through vox channels and heard the distressing reports of troops being overrun, entire divisions being slaughtered, and reports from the Astartes, the death toll was hideous, one report said two hundred Astartes were killed in the one massive offensive earlier that day. Arten swore silently as he ordered his squad out of the barracks, outside they walked into a massive melee between outnumbered enemy Terminators and the Blood Angels Terminators, he charged into the fray cutting and slashing at the enemy, firing into the bloated frame of the enemy forces. Suddenly a flood of concentrated las and plasma shots hit the enemy as a legion of Storm troopers rappelled all around the melee, heavily defeating the Terminator units, "Blood Angels, you have been recalled to the West Ridge Starport, your chapter has diverted every single Astartes toward the Port." Said a Storm Trooper bearing an Erathian 25th Regiment Commander insignia, "What about the Guardsmen in there?" Arten enquired pointing at the barracks "They will be evacuated in the first wave." Arten nodded "I will take your word for it Commander. For the Emperor!" he said as he turned to join his squad. The situation was much worse than he had thought; Blood Angel Brothers were being slaughtered everywhere overrun by enemy formations, they were met by two Thunderhawks to take them to a new battlefield.

The flight from the Herloc line to the West ridge was a scene of utter horror, below him Arten spied as hundreds of Guardsmen were being slaughtered as they struggled to cover the massive retreat of their allies. Then he saw as helpless squads of Astartes were cut down by traitor swarms, he cried as he saw the scenes and pleaded with the Terminator Captain to leave his squad to go help his brothers. The Force Commander was stern on his command that all available forces were to rally at the Starport, all they could do was watch, as their brothers paid in rivers of blood and in the forefront of the assault they spied the massive grim and unstoppable figure of the terror which had bought them to this blood soaked planet, there amidst the ruins and the dead of the Second Company Imperial Fists stood the Master of the traitor Legions, Lord Abaddon the Despoiler, he swore and cursed at the figure tenfold, but to no Avail, but the fates conspired against the decision of the force commander, massive anti-air missiles smashed into the Thunderhawks, the vox crackled into life all around them as the calls for help flooded from the cockpit as a fire erupted amidst the helm. There were explosions everywhere, reaching a crescendo with the cacophony of the wailing alarms, suddenly another massive explosion rocked the damaged bird, but this time the hull integrity weakened as the front part of the bird sheared off and the broken bird plunged to the ground, all Arten remembered was a brief shattering pain. Voices. Cries. Nothing. Blackness. The Fall of the Angels had started.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Reinforcements

The Thunderhawk was an utter ruin, both the birds were shot down, the pilots of both the ships died as the nose dived into the blood-soaked fields below. The Sixty Space Marines of the Blood Angels strike force were shattered, only few had survived, but they were scattered, they would be cut down unless they rally and push on east toward the rest of their already broken Chapter. Squad Arten and Squad Hevlon retrieved what equipment they could and ventured out to find the Terminator squads. Three hours of searching later they came across the broken body of Brother Vester of Squad Everen, his corpse ripped in half, he was armoured in a Terminator suit and a only a few things in the universe could cause such a damage. Arten looked unsure at the surroundings, the Gene-Seed was not harvested and there was no trace of the Squad at all. "Mathan lead, Aranur point, fall in. Rest of you search the area for wreckage!" he ordered, Brother Hevlon came up behind Arten and swore under his breath, audibly even through the sealed vox. "Looks like a bloody tough fight, eh?" he said pointing at four other bodies of what had been three other Squad Everen members who had slipped his vision tucked beneath a rubble pile to his far left. "What in Terra's name could do such a thing?" he asked the older Brother-Sergeant, he simply nodded, there was sudden gunfire from Mathan's position and he saw lithe naked figures mounted on a sleek creature sweep down from the right. "Daemons!" yelled a Astartes as gunfire erupted cutting into the charging daemons.

The Daemonettes were quick, unnaturally so, they rode on strange creatures which moved with agility of a bolt shot. They carved through the Squad Hevlon's front and point guards, "Mathan, Vernas bring the Heavy Bolters to bear!" Arten ordered as he heard the distinct whirring of the Bolt Shells loading into weapon he turned to meet the enemy, but already a Daemonette had found him. The lithe female spawn jumped on him and bought him down with unnatural strength, Arten Swung his Bolter to its face but it moved away, he used the momentum to throw the daemon of him and bought up his bolter and shot, the female thing was hit in mid air and its body was torn to shreds as a wisp of purple fire surrounded it and it vanished. He found his footing and trailed his bolter into the mass of Daemonettes and fired with trained precision, the shots shattered the beings and they all immolated in purple fire as they were banished back to the warp, he activated his Chainsword and charged into the mêlée and cut left and right slaying a steed here and another daemon spawn there, as the Space Marines were too busy routing the Daemons a slow mist of pink rose from the ground around them as the Daemonettes began falling back toward the crest of ruin. They dismounted and disarmed themselves, their claws grew in and hands formed, the lost their fangs and breastplates as an unnatural beauty came to them. A purple Daemonette walked forward naked except for the loin cloth, the stunned space marine looked on pure astonishment, Arten had seen the most beautiful creature ever. He lusted for her.

The creatures entourage became the same as their leader. "Come to us, love us." The voices whispered. A Space Marine beside Arten removed his helmet and smiled as he walked toward them, "Yessss!" the whispers came "Lust for us! Slannesh can fulfil your every desire." The Marines armour fell apart until he was naked, a voluptuous Daemonette ran to him and kissed him on the lips. The Marine cried out in pleasure as he felt the Daemonettes curves. Suddenly they disappeared in the same purple fire. Something within Arten fought against the lust, "No!" he yelled out like he had a bad nightmare "They are Daemons!" he aimed his bolter at the head Daemonette and shot her in the head in a fluid motion, the thing screamed a powerful screech before immolating fire carried it away. "Emperor Protects! His Faithful Never Fail!" he yelled as he shot at the Daemonettes, the others were out of the trance and were completely disoriented, and Arten gave them time as he charged into the Daemonettes stunned at the lose of their leader, he swung like a madman bellowing litanies of hatred as he swung his blade far and wide the recovered marines stared at him in awe when all the things were banished.

Mathan walked beside him as Arten removed his Helmet "How did you kill them?" Mathan asked "What?" Arten replied shooting him strange look "With Bolter and Chainsword!" he said. "Why didn't you kill any?" he inquired and laughed. The survivors looked at him with all seriousness. "No." answered a bleeding Brother Hevlon. "What was that...how did you...banish them??" asked a tired Brother Aranur. Arten just stared at his Oath Papers fluttering on his armour "Faith in the Emperor, that was all." They stopped questioning him and continued their quest.

Few days later they had come across the remnants of the two other Tactical Squads Squad Othar and Squad Arlen, they were less than half their strength, but the Squad Ulsak was still in full power. Surprisingly enough all ten of the Terminators of Sergeant Ulsak were alive but battered after a brutal fight against an Armoured Platoon in which they were victorious. They joined their lost brothers in glee and proceeded west toward the ever closer. Ulsak drew up a map of the area they were in now called the Dead Lands, the Force Commander still kept in touch but was not going to risk a break out to save the stranded Brothers as they were now behind enemy lines, but he did relay orders to intercept and crush enemy forces and ambush siege lines which were now forming around the Starport. Their first objective was to ambush an Two Hundred strong caravan carrying a massive Daemon Cannon. The Thirty Five Strong Blood Angels were all it was needed, little did they know these were Two Hundred Berzerkers led by a Khorne Berzerker called Erlak the Blood-Eyed.

The crash of a few remaining buildings around the streets was sound enough to signal the arrival of the Traitors, the Astartes had chosen hidden spots around the ambush area wisely and awaited the Heretics. "Arten, set those melta charges of as soon as they get to the westside, crack em through as we shower them." crackled the vox. Arten readied the detonator and looked toward Mathan's position and saw the Squad ready for the attacks, he was in a raised platform of a burnt out complex with two other Brother Marines, both Terminators from Uslak's squad wielding massive Assault Cannons, ready to shred the hertics and give fire support to the warriors below. Th other teams were spread across the intersection, Ulsak was on the north-Eastern corner of the intersection leading five of his Terminators, he could see the bulky Terminator suits to his southern corner readying their thunder hammers and shields. This is it Arten thought as he heard the footsteps marching closer, much heavier and harder thatn he expected, ceramite? he asked himself, suddenly as he imagined the peculiar sound, Chaos Marines of Khorne came into view, strangely marching in tight formation, at the head was a Daemon thing lugging a massive Axe covered in blood, "Berzerkers?" came a vocie on the vox. "They are the enemy!" said a angry Ulsak. "As planned then." asked Arten. "Send them back to hell!" replied Ulsak as Arten armed the explosives and engaged it.

The explosions ripped through the line of strangely disciplined Berzerkers. They were wreathed in flaming melta as the blasts caught them unawares, the giant Daemon thing in the front was thrown to the ground, its left wing on fire and its left side a bloody flaming ruin. "Charge!" came Ulsak's order, Arten erupted from the building firing his Bolter as behind him he heard the Terminators servos whine as the Brothers trained their Cannons on the enemy and the slaughter began. Arten charged into the enemy firing his bolter and swinging his Chainsword, he ran into a Berzerker wreathed in flames he swung his chainsword and decapitated the head of the Berzerker, he moved on as he met a Berzerker swinging his Chain Axe at him, the two chain weapons met and the weapons whined and the teeth of the weapons bit into each other and spark flew, the Berzerker bought up his Bolt Pistol and shot Arten, the bolt hit his breastplate but the curve deflected the shell upwards and it exploded near his face throwing him back, his face bloody and scarred, the Berzerker gave out a guttural laugh and swore cursed oaths to the Blood God as he swung the Chain Axe downward, Arten bought up his blade to block and the weapons met again with sparks and the chains biting each other as he pushed up, but the Berzerker was stronger as the blade came evercloser to his face, he struggled was this it? Is this how the Daemon Killer will die, at the hands of a Khorne Berzerker just like three hundred of his brothers? he closed his eyes and chanted the Litany of War and felt his limbs strengtrhen and his muscles bulge, with Astartes power he pushed up and kicked the Berzerker on his shin guard, the Berzerker stumbled back, he bought up his bolter and shot the thing multiple times as the Berzerker crashed to the ground dead. Around him the combnined bolter fire and the terminators of Ulsak and the Space Marines crushed the force, scores were killed in the blasts and dozens more died as the Terminator Cannons ripped through them. The Ambush was a success.

Three days later and still nothing Vox-net was scrambled all they could hear was the Imperial units in full retreat in the face of massive Chaos attacks. The numbers were terrifying to hear, there were close to Nine-Thousand Chaos Marines assaulting the ever diminishing Front and another Eleven Thousand Chaos Marines were tearing the rest of the world apart. The Three Million Imperial Guardsmen holding the continent wide Iron Fortress were massacred in a single day by the cause of a single breach, it was said Abaddon himself lead the assault into fortress. Things were bleak all over. A Million Heretics had reinforced the Southern Assault force and as a result the Governor General and all the Imperial Fists on the world were dead, only the Blood Angels 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies and Four Infantry Divisions held the Western Starport the last bastion in all of Mackan, the other forces were either massacred or evacuated in a messy run. Evacuation of Mackan had started in earnest.

The band of Space Marines had made it past the dead lands into the border lands of the Starport, the vox net had finally unscrambled, and they had finally made proper contact with the Blood Angels command. So far the band of the thirty Space Marines had been commanded around the borders launching hit and run raids and letting the few survivours from the front the filter through. They were sent to the Melsant Bridge four days into the Evacuation of Mackan it was their last assignment. There was a force of Heretics with Chaos Marine support heading toward the bridge and they were to hold it until Reinforcements arrived and demolished the bridge. Arten went into it with all his vigour, the incident at the Dead Lands and him killing close to thirty Daemonettes of the Warp had led him to be nicknamed the banisher. Arten grabbed a heretic by the neck and snapped it, he retrieved his Bolter and shot into a charging Khorne Berzerkers, two of the Khornates heads were blown apart. The third was shot in the chest but he stumbled and continued charging, only to run into a wave of bolter fire guided by Hevlon, who nodded to him, Arten returned to the enemy and shot down four more Khorne Berzerkers and charged into a knot of heretics on his flank, he was joined by three of his squad Brothers, they cut a bloody path through the traitorous curs and killed them like they were meant to die. They held their ground with righteous fury as massive tanks charged at them. A massive Predator tank rolled up beside them and two dreadnoughts accompanied it they fired into the advancing enemy armour platoon Arten realized that they had been spotted by the Blood Angels and they had come to rescue them. Reinforcements had finally arrived.


End file.
